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Sunday 29 October 2017

Kadaver – Hypothermiasma



Kadaver – Hypothermiasma – Fall of Nature Records – Cassette – 2017.




A1 Torment Treatment.

A2 Popcorpse.

A3 Self Inflicted Decapitation.

A4 Infantophile Obstetrician.

B1 23 Shades of Decomposition.

B2 Maruta.

B3 Pink Sabbath.




There seems to be a tendency of late to operate well within the lower frequencies within the current Power Electronics scene of late. Artists make entire albums of simmering broodiness, loaded with personal vague content whilst experimenting with restraint in the quieter depths of noise. When it’s done well (Shift, Stark, She Spread Sorrow) it’s truly, impressively great. However when it’s not done so well, it’s straight on the discogs for sale list to hopefully gain some financial compensation for what just happened to my ears.


Thankfully Kadaver seems unaware of this style and exists completely at the opposite end of the spectrum. I didn’t know what had hit me as Hypothermiasma began on the headphones with a complete hellish assault of screaming, rumbling noise. There is violent digital assault on Popcorpse, I’ve heard a lot of tedious techno assault noise of late, but this carves up harsh sounds and creates a rhythm through reassembled sounds put into a rhythmic pattern. Digital cut up used to impressive effect occurs several times across the album.


There are parts that appear to be harsh noise walls but are further violent assaults of sound with some good layering, particularly on Self Inflicted Decapitation.  Samples are used in several parts to build urgency before an attack of sound kicks in and they all link to each other well.


This is an album of experimentation that yields plenty of results, 23 Shades of Decomposition slows things down into a bizarre, warped sermon of decomposition. This track is then obscured by concise overlapping of harsh frequencies that allows parts of the sermon to glimpse through. Maruta continues this method, but is determined to outdo previous tracks where insanity and violence are concerned. It makes effective use of terrified screams, echoes, reduction and reintroduction of elements. The methods of experimentation do shift a lot, delivering a range of work that totally disallows any formula to take precedence. 


I approached Kadaver thinking it would be one style of noise – as visually it seems to present as a straight Death Industrial project. It isn’t, there’s aspects of lots of things like laptop noise, Power Electronics, Industrial, American style Noise and Death Industrial amongst many, but they are all cleverly dismantled and put together as something else. I believe this to be complimented by a good shit filter and creative use of reassembly. It knows when to pull back, but manages to consistently keep things interesting. I am left curious, is the rest of the discography this good, is this album the best? I don’t know, but I am keen to find out more about Kadaver. This along with Stark’s ‘Hyena’ is my favourite release of 2017 so far.


Choppy Noodles 2017




[Bolt] + Biblo + Heyer – [Bolt] + Biblo + Heyer.



[Bolt] + Biblo + Heyer – [Bolt] + Biblo + Heyer. Wolves and Vibrancy Records – 2017 - http://wolvesandvibrancyrecords.com/ - Germany.


Track Listing:
1.    [Bolt] – [23]
2.    [Bolt] feat. Biblo - [27]
3.    biblo – b1
4.    biblo feat. [Bolt] – b2.



This album merges two sound artists who each have their own distinctive, differing styles. They are German Black Drone outfit [Bolt] and solo artist Biblo from Istanbul. On this 12” each artist created two tracks, one on their own and a second track featuring the other artist. This is a self-titled audio-visual collaboration that is complimented by a booklet of 8 manipulated photographs by Ole Kristian Heyer of the Italian glacial Lake Garda by. Due to the strongly differing styles this is an album that could go either way in terms of its’ success.

Bolt’s sound combines epic riffs, feedback that builds in complexity as instruments form suspenseful atmospheric drones that are unrecognizable yet effective in sound. They also incorporate dramatic shifts and drops in sound to creates epic, gorgeous results that really resonate with Heyer’s images. As bolts work shifts into a more subtle ambient territory it becomes expansive and ambitious. Biblo’s contribution to the work of [Bolt] is backed by beats that add a solid base for the sound to build upon. Static hiss playfully teases the ethereal ambience that [Bolt] evoke, creating a subtle repetitive shift between different sonic territories. The drama of the work truly reflects the impressive landscapes of Lake Garda and the wide contrasts between the townscape, lake and mountains. The two artists combine to make a hypnotic, evocative and ethereal passage of ever changing sound. 

I’m completely unfamiliar with biblo’s work and the genre she operates in, but the changes she brings to [Bolt’s] work is massive. In a solo context her fractured electronica is pulsated by bursts of electronic beats that serve as an introduction to her abstracted vocalised sounds. Her work is dreamily ambient in contrast to the soaring seriousness of [Bolt], she also uses repetition well throughout her contributions. It is more of a long delicate soundscape of cloud-like floaty sounds and layered vocals. Combined with [Bolt] the electronics seem to intensify and take a more serious turn in sound. The music raises to higher ground with a more emotionally dramatic undertone. 

In some ways, this album is fractured by being two artist tracks followed by two collaborations. They all really tie together by relating to Heyer’s visuals. The tracks that both artists work on together are stronger that the individual works; they deliver an impressive show of individual strengths that quickly become one complete unit. If both artists worked together again, I’d love to see a whole album of collaborative work with another core visual element. But these criticisms are only minor, this is an excellent record that reaches soaring heights as genres are mixed into unknown territories. 

Choppy Noodles 2017


Artist websites:
Ole Kristian Heyer - http://ole-kristianheyer.de/